Cyprus Turkish Journal of Psychiatry & Psychology Vol.7 Issue.2
Doi:10.35365/ctjpp.25.2.12
LETTER TO THE EDITOR / EDİTÖRE MEKTUP
To the Editor,
The developmental approach constitutes a fundemental perspective in the science and practice of psychology and psychiatry. The developmental approach is of considerable importance and utility for research and applications in individual and community mental health. According to the lifespan developmental approach, human development is shaped not only by early life experiences but also by experiences and life events in adulthood. Social and societal changes in the world in the last century have led to the emergence of new concepts and theories about adult development.
The concept of established adulthood, developed in the field of adult development, provides an up-to-date perspective on the general experiences and difficulties experienced by adults in their thirties and forties. This new concept, put forward by Mehta, Arnett, Palmer, and Nelson (2020), is a continuation of the emerging adulthood (18-29) theory previously developed by Arnett (2000). It is emphasized that the established adulthood period (30-45) differs from emerging adulthood and middle adulthood in terms of physical health, cognitive development, well-being, and work-life balance. In this period, often characterized as a particularly demanding phase of life, the term ‘career-and-care-crunch’ is suggested to describe adults feeling caught between the responsibilities of their work and family lives. This crunch influences adult romantic relationships and varies based on gender and social class.
Studies on established adulthood in Türkiye are quite limited and warrant further investigation. In the study of Miski Aydın et al. (2023), it was found that work-family conflict and perceived stress played a mediating role in the relationship between overparenting and well-being in working mothers in established adulthood. On the other hand, Yalçınkaya’s (2024) study showed that the level of acceptance and involvement that emerging adults perceived from their parents was significantly higher than that of established adults.
Some demographic changes in Türkiye in the last 22 years, such as the increase in the life expectancy at birth from 69 years to 77 (TÜİK, 2024a), the increase in the average age of first marriage from 23 to 26 for women and from 26 to 28 for men (TÜİK, 2024b), and the increase in the annual average age of mothers giving birth from 27 to 29 (TÜİK, 2024c), are indicative of developmental shifts within society. Considering the role of social change, normative history-graded influences, and intergenerational differences in individual development, there is a need for a more in-depth theoretical and methodological analysis of the established adulthood concept through studies conducted in Türkiye.
Sincerely.
1Assoc. Prof. Dr., Marmara University, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Department of Psychology, Kadıköy, Istanbul, Türkiye, E-mail: [email protected], Orcid Id: 0000-0002-4273-9394
Address of Correpondence/Yazışma Adresi: Asil Ali Özdoğru, Marmara University, Göztepe Campus, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Department of Psychology, 34722 Kadıköy, Istanbul, Türkiye, E-mail: [email protected].
Date of Received/Geliş Tarihi: 30.10.2024, Date of Revision/Düzeltme Tarihi: 04.06.2025, Date of Acceptance/Kabul Tarihi: 23.06.2025, Date of Online Publication/Çevirimiçi Yayın Tarihi: 25.06.2025
Citing/Referans Gösterimi: Özdoğru, A. A. (2025). A New Concept in Human Development: Established Adulthood. Cyprus Turkish Journal of Psychiatry & Psychology, 7(2), 212-213.
© 2025 The Author(s). Published by Cyprus Mental Health Institute / Cyprus Turkish Journal of Psychiatry and Psychology (www.ktppdergisi.com). This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited and is not used for commercial purposes. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/
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